R22 or Freon is a refrigerant that is commonly used in HVAC and refrigeration systems in your home and office for many decades. There are many positive qualities of R22. It is energy efficient and compatible with many HVAC systems on the market today. But there is a disadvantage to using R22 in your HVAC systems. That is the substance is damaging to the ozone layer of the planet. In fact, Freon damages the ozone layer of the planet and is responsible for causing many skin cancers due to the exposure to dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun.
That is why the world leaders who got together in Montreal in 1987 decided to phase out R22 on a stage by stage basis. The final phase-out is supposed to be completed in January 2020. After that, you won’t be able to purchase R22 even at higher prices on the market. That is why you should consider shifting to an alternative refrigerant without delay. This article provides information on some of the main reasons you need to get rid of R22 or Freon right now.
Refrigerants were developed in the early 1900s. In fact, in 1928, a mixture of carbon, fluorine, and chlorine (CFC) was used as a refrigerant. But the substance was found to be damaging to the home as well as the environment. HCFC was developed as an alternative to CFC. In fact, HCFC was considered to be much safer and efficient for the HVAC systems. It was non-toxic, non-flammable, odorless, and non-corrosive in nature. But further testing was conducted in the 1970s. The authorities found out that HCFC is just as damaging to the environment like CFC. It was detrimental to the ozone layer of the planet. The ozone layer plays an important part in protecting life on the planet. It prevents the dangerous UV rays from causing various skin cancers. That is why the EPA decided to phase out R22 or Freon in stages.
The EPA and other agencies decided to actively phase out R22 starting from 2010. In fact, more than 75% of HFCF was phased out in 2010. The authorities limited the manufacture and importation of R22 to the United States in 2010. R22 was allowed for existing HVAC systems but not for the new equipment manufactured after 2010. In fact, the existing HVAC systems needed a viable solution to the problem. Hence, the authorities decided to allow the use of R22 only for servicing the existing HVAC systems in the country. The next phasing out began in 2015. The production and importation of Freon to the United States were further decreased in 2015. In fact, more than 90% of the substance was phased out by 2015. But there are existing HVAC systems that require R22 for servicing and refilling purposes. Hence, 10% of the substance was permitted to be manufactured and imported into the country.
But the price of R22 skyrocketed during this period. In fact, suppliers who stocked up the substance began charging exorbitant prices for R22 due to the supply and demand situation. A pound of Freon or R22 shot up to $80-115 during this period. Just imagine how much you must pay for a pound of R22 when compared to an average of $13 per pound of most of the other alternative refrigerants on the market today. That is why most HVAC professionals and facility managers decided to shift to a viable alternative refrigerant on the market.
The final stage of the phasing out is supposed to be implemented in January 2020. More than 99.5% of the substance will be phased out by this time. In fact, you won’t be able to buy R22 even for servicing the existing systems after this date. That is why you should seriously consider shifting to an alternative refrigerant without further delay. It is the most sensible thing to do if you want to save money and become free of all the hassles of not having access to R22 to service your HVAC systems.
The phasing out of R22 will affect almost all types of consumers on the market. There are many HVAC systems out there that run on R22 even after the phasing out came into effect in 2010. In case your existing R22 system experiences a refrigerant leakage in the future, you will face a big problem in finding R22 to fill the leak. That is why you should be cautious of the problem and maintain your system so that it doesn’t experience a refrigerant leak. That is where preventive maintenance comes in handy. If you can maintain the existing HVAC systems properly, you won’t need to replace them with a system that is compatible with an alternative refrigerant. It can save you from a precarious situation where you don’t have access to R22 or Freon from January 2020.
There are several ways of dealing with the complete phasing out of R22 or Freon in January 2020. In case you have the funds to do so, you can immediately replace the existing HVAC system with a new energy efficient model that is compatible with an alternative refrigerant on the market. But what if you don’t have the necessary funds for a complete overhauling of the HVAC system? You can maintain the existing system so that it doesn’t experience a refrigerant leak in the future. That way you won’t need to shift to a new refrigerant soon. In fact, you can allow the existing system to operate until it develops a leakage and replace it with an alternative refrigerant compatible system.
The other way is to shift to an alternative refrigerant that runs on the current R22-compatible system. TdX 20 is one such alternative refrigerant. It is one of the best refrigerants on the market today. TdX 20 is energy efficient and eco-friendly at the same time. The article provides information on the top reasons to get rid of R22 or Freon without further delay.
